Registering for an Event
This feature requires the Registration module to be enabled for the event.
Register for an event to secure your pass, receive a check-in QR code, and get access to the event schedule and attendee features.
Public event page > Register
Use the registration link shared by the organizer, or open the event page and click Register.
Finding Your Event
Your event organizer will share a link to the event page. Event pages follow this URL pattern:
yourorg.heyema.com/your-event
The event page displays the event name, description, dates, and venue. A prominent Register button takes you into the registration flow.
If registration has not opened yet, a countdown timer shows when registration begins. If registration has closed, a Registration Closed message appears in place of the button.
Registration Flow Overview
Registration is a multi-step wizard that guides you through pass selection, add-ons, personal details, account creation, and payment. You can move forward and backward through the steps at any time before completing payment.
Step 1: Choose How You Want to Register
When you begin, choose how you want to register:
- Register myself — register yourself for the event.
- Register someone else — provide your details as the purchaser, then provide the attendee's details as the registrant.
- Group registration — register multiple attendees at once. You become the group manager and handle checkout for everyone in your group.
Select your mode to continue.
Step 2: Choose Your Pass
Browse the available registration types for the event. Common examples include Full Pass, Day Pass, Student Pass, or VIP Pass — the organizer defines what is available.
Each registration type displays:
- Name and description — what the pass includes and any restrictions.
- Price — the cost for that pass type. If early-bird pricing or tiered pricing is active, the current applicable price appears automatically.
- Availability — the number of spots remaining (e.g., "12 remaining"), "Unlimited" if uncapped, or "Sold Out" if no spots are left.
Select the pass you want to add it to your cart.
Some organizers restrict certain passes to members of a professional association or society. If the event has this set up, you are asked to verify your membership (by email, or by email plus a membership number) before you can select those passes. Enter your details and click Verify, or click Not a member? Continue to proceed without verifying — passes reserved for verified members won't be available to select in that case.
Some organizers also share special registration links for exclusive passes that are not shown on the general public page (for example, a link sent only to sponsors or invited guests). Following one of these links unlocks the extra passes for your session automatically — there is nothing to type in.
Sold Out Passes and Waitlist
If a registration type is sold out and the organizer has enabled a waitlist, a Join Waitlist button appears instead of the regular select button. Click it to add yourself to the waitlist. See the Waitlist section below for details on how waitlist offers work.
Step 3: Add-ons
After selecting your pass, browse optional extras that the organizer has made available. Add-ons fall into categories like:
- Workshops — pre-event or breakout sessions with limited capacity.
- Social events — networking dinners, welcome receptions, after-parties.
- Merchandise — branded items, printed materials, or swag bags.
- Parking and transport — venue parking passes or shuttle access.
- Accommodation — hotel packages bundled with the event.
Some organizers offer add-on packages that bundle multiple extras together at a discounted price compared to purchasing each item individually.
Toggle items on or off and set quantities where applicable. Your cart total updates in real time as you add or remove items.
Add-ons are optional — skip this step if you do not need any extras.
Add limited-capacity workshops, dinners, or transport when you register if they matter to your event experience. You may not be able to add them later if they sell out or if the organizer closes changes.
Step 4: Your Details
Fill in the registration form with your information. The form includes standard fields and any custom fields the organizer has configured.
Standard fields:
- First name
- Last name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Company / organization
- Job title
Custom fields vary by event and may include:
- Dietary requirements
- Accessibility needs
- T-shirt size
- Arrival and departure dates
- Emergency contact information
- Any other information the organizer needs to collect
If you are signed in to your ema account, your profile information pre-fills automatically. You can edit any pre-filled values before continuing.
If the organizer collects a tax identifier for invoicing, an extra tax ID field appears on this step.
Step 5: Account
If you are not already signed in, ema checks the email you entered before you continue.
- Enter your name and email address.
- If there is no existing account for that email, ema creates one for you automatically — no password to set — and continues your registration.
- If that email already belongs to an existing account, you are sent to sign in. ema's primary sign-in method is a one-time code emailed to you (or your organization's single sign-on, if your organizer has that configured); a password is also available as a fallback where enabled. See Signing In and Account Access for details.
Once you finish signing in, you are returned to your registration exactly where you left off. Your registration is linked to your account so you can manage it later from the Me Portal.
Step 6: Review Your Order
Before payment, review everything in your order:
- Pass type — the registration type you selected.
- Add-ons — any extras you added, with quantities.
- Pricing breakdown — subtotal, any discounts applied, applicable tax, and the total amount due.
- Payment surcharge — if the organizer applies a surcharge for the payment method you choose, it appears in the total before you complete checkout. Card surcharges can adjust to your card brand: the review step may show an estimated surcharge that updates to the actual amount for the card you enter at payment.
If the organizer requires terms and conditions, you must tick the agreement checkbox before completing registration.
Donations
The event may include an optional donation step during checkout, where you can add a contribution to a cause the organizer supports. Some events require a donation to complete registration — in that case the donation step cannot be skipped.
Review the total, tax, discounts, surcharges, and payment method before confirming. Once payment or invoice creation is complete, changes usually need the organizer's help.
Applying a Discount Code
If you have a discount code, enter it in the discount code field on the review page and click Apply. The discount is reflected immediately in your order total. Discount codes apply either a percentage off or a fixed amount off your order total.
Some codes have usage limits or expiry dates. If a code is invalid or expired, an error message explains why it could not be applied.
Choosing a Payment Method
Select how you want to pay:
- Credit card — pay now using a secure payment form.
- Invoice — receive an invoice to pay later. Your registration is confirmed immediately and the invoice is sent to your email.
- Bank transfer — pay via electronic funds transfer (EFT). Transfer details are provided after you submit your order.
The available payment methods depend on what the organizer has enabled.
Step 7: Payment
If you selected credit card, a secure Stripe payment form appears. Enter your:
- Card number
- Expiry date
- CVV / security code
- Billing address
Payment processes immediately. You are not charged until you click the final confirmation button.
If you selected invoice or bank transfer, no immediate payment is required. Your order is submitted and payment instructions are sent to your email.
Step 8: Confirmation
After your order is submitted, you see a confirmation page with:
- Order summary — a recap of your pass, add-ons, and amount paid (or amount due).
- QR code — your personal check-in QR code for the event.
- Next steps — links to "View My Registrations" in the Me Portal and "Back to Event."
A confirmation email is also sent to you with your order details, receipt, and QR code attached.
Group Registration
Group registration lets you register multiple people under a single order. This is useful for teams, delegations, or anyone coordinating attendance for a group.
How It Works
- Choose "Group" on the registration mode step.
- Enter group details — group name, organization, and your contact information as the group manager.
- Add registrants — add each person to the group one by one. For each registrant:
- Select their pass type from the available options.
- Choose any add-ons for that individual.
- Fill in their attendee details (name, email, company, custom fields) — or leave the name and email blank to reserve an unnamed seat and fill in the details later.
- Review the full group order — all registrants, passes, add-ons, and the combined total are displayed.
- Complete a single checkout — one payment covers the entire group.
If you don't have everyone's details yet, add a seat without a name or email. It still counts toward your order and can be paid for immediately — the reserved seat is emailed a claim link once checkout completes so the attendee can fill in their own details.
After Group Registration
- Each named group member receives their own individual QR code and a confirmation email with their personal pass details. Unnamed (reserved) seats get a QR code once the attendee fills in their details via the emailed claim link.
- As the group manager, you can view and manage the group from the Me Portal under Managed Registrations — see each member's status, purchase add-ons or upgrades on their behalf, transfer or request cancellation of a registration, and pay any outstanding balance. See Managed Registrations for what you can and can't do from there.
Special Registration Links
Some registrations happen outside the standard flow. These are initiated by the event organizer and delivered to you by email.
Registering on Behalf of Someone Else
Use Register someone else when you are purchasing or arranging a registration for another attendee.
- Choose Register someone else.
- Choose the registration type.
- Enter your purchaser details.
- Enter the attendee's registrant details.
- Choose any add-ons, verify or sign in as needed, and complete checkout.
The attendee details are used for the registration. Your purchaser details are used to complete the checkout.
Claiming a Pre-Allocated Ticket
If an organizer has pre-allocated a ticket for you (e.g., VIP guest, invited speaker, complimentary pass), you receive a claim link by email.
- Click the link in your email.
- Enter your name and email address to claim the ticket.
- The registration is confirmed. No payment is required.
If the ticket has already been claimed (by you or someone else), you see a message that the registration has already been claimed by another person.
Waitlist Offers
When you are on a waitlist and a spot opens up, you receive a time-limited offer by email.
- Click the link in the email to open the offer page.
- A countdown timer shows how long you have to accept the offer.
- Click Accept to confirm your spot and proceed to payment, or click Decline to pass the offer to the next person on the waitlist.
If the offer expires before you respond, the spot is automatically offered to the next person in the queue.
Cart Behavior
Your cart is saved in your browser throughout the registration process. Key details:
- A countdown timer shows how long your selected items are reserved for you.
- If the timer expires before you complete payment, your items are released back to inventory and may become available to other registrants.
- You can modify your cart at any step before payment — add or remove add-ons, change quantities, or go back and select a different pass type.
- Refreshing the page does not clear your cart as long as the reservation timer has not expired.
Discount Codes
Discount codes are provided by the event organizer and entered on the Review step of the registration flow.
| Code Type | Effect |
|---|---|
| Percentage off | Reduces the order total by a percentage (e.g., 20% off). |
| Fixed amount off | Reduces the order total by a set amount (e.g., $50 off). |
Some codes have restrictions:
- Usage limits — the code can only be used a set number of times across all registrants.
- Expiry dates — the code is only valid within a specific date range.
- Pass type restrictions — the code may only apply to certain registration types.
If a code cannot be applied, an error message tells you why.
Waitlist
When a registration type reaches capacity, the waitlist gives you a way to stay in line for a spot.
Joining the Waitlist
- On the pass selection step, find the sold-out registration type.
- Click Join Waitlist.
- Enter your contact details if not already signed in.
- You receive a confirmation that you have been added to the waitlist.
How Spots Are Offered
- When a spot opens (cancellation, capacity increase), the next person on the waitlist receives an email with a time-limited offer.
- Offers are first-come, first-served based on the order you joined the waitlist.
- Each offer has a countdown timer. If you do not accept within the time limit, the offer moves to the next person.
- Once you accept an offer, you proceed through the standard payment flow to complete your registration.
Waitlist Status
You can check your waitlist status from the Me Portal. Your position is visible, along with the registration type you are waiting for.
After Registration
Once registered, you have full access to the attendee experience.
Me Portal
Sign in to the Me Portal to manage your registration:
- View your pass — see your registration type, order details, and payment status.
- QR code — access your check-in QR code at any time.
- Event pass — open your pass in ema or the hey ema mobile app for quick access at the venue.
- Personal agenda — browse the event schedule and bookmark sessions to build your own agenda.
- Update your details — edit your profile, contact information, and custom field responses.
- Managed registrations — if you registered a group, manage all group members from here.
Mobile App
Download the hey ema mobile app for on-the-go access to your pass, schedule, and event features. The app is available for iOS and Android.
The mobile app gives you quick access to your event pass, schedule, notifications, and onsite features. See hey ema Mobile App.
Confirmation Email
Keep your confirmation email for your records. It contains your order summary, receipt, and QR code. If you need it resent, sign in to the Me Portal and use Resend Confirmation Email on your registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my registration type after completing payment? If the organizer has set up an upgrade path for your pass, sign in to the Me Portal and use Upgrade on your registration — this is self-service and shows the price difference before you confirm. If no upgrade path is available, contact the event organizer.
Can I transfer my registration to someone else? If the organizer allows transfers for your pass type, use Transfer on your registration in the Me Portal — no need to contact the organizer. Some registration types require organizer approval before a transfer completes, in which case you'll see it as pending until approved.
I did not receive my confirmation email. What should I do? Check your spam or junk folder first. If you still cannot find it, sign in to the Me Portal to verify your registration was completed. From there you can resend your confirmation email yourself, or contact the event organizer if you need help.
Can I cancel my registration and get a refund? Use Request Cancellation on your registration in the Me Portal to submit a cancellation request. Refund amount and approval are subject to the organizer's cancellation policy, which is shown to you before you submit the request.
My discount code is not working. What should I check? Verify that the code is entered exactly as provided (codes are case-sensitive). Check whether the code has expired or reached its usage limit. If the issue persists, contact the event organizer who issued the code.
How do I check in at the event? Present your QR code at the check-in desk. You can access your QR code from the Me Portal, your confirmation email, your digital wallet, or the hey ema mobile app.